In what ways was Judaism different from the religions of other ancient civilizations?

Answer 1

Judaism was monotheistic; it involves belief in and worship of ONE G-d and nothing/nobody else. The other religions in the region at that time were all polytheistic, and involved multiple deities, and often also human sacrifice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer 2

It was monotheistic when the pagans around them had many gods. Jews had strict dietary codes, different religious rites and laws. They had cleansing rituals which promoted good health and hygiene. They didn't allow intermarriage with the pagan nations around them to keep their race pure.
Judaism was the only ancient religion to believe in One God and to shun idolatry.

Answer 3

Judaism differed from other ancient religions in the following ways:1) It was the only religion in which God spoke to the entire assembled nation (Exodus ch.19) of over two million people.

2) It made a complete break from the surrounding idolatry. Their monotheism (belief in One God) set the Jews apart because other ancient nations did not share it. We've heard (for example) of Greek mythology and Roman mythology. What not everyone is aware of is that idolatry tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the pagan gods were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior.

(See: cruelties of the polytheists)

Compare that to God, who reveals His attributes in the Torah as wise, kind, holy, and pure. God is One, so the command to imitate His attributes (Deuteronomy 8:6) was (and is) a straightforward matter once one is even minimally familiar with the Torah.

(See: What do Jews believe God is like?)

Accordingly, Judaism was:

3) The only ancient religion in which a large percentage of its adherents were literate and scholars.

4) It was the only religion in which the people were ruled by God, with no need for a king, for several centuries (see Judges 8:23 and 1 Samuel 8:4-7).

5) The concept of morality was also the work of the Hebrews' religion, including the dignity and value of a person. It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.

6) Under the law of Judaism, everyone had recourse to the courts. A child, widow, wife, poor person, etc., could initiate legal action against any citizen to redress perpetrated harm. Compare this to those societies in which (at most) only mature, land-owning males had rights.

7) Government is accountable to a higher authority. In other ancient societies, the monarch was all-powerful. Among the Israelites, however, the king was under the constant scrutiny of the Divinely-informed prophets, who didn't hesitate to castigate him publicly for any misstep in the sight of God.

(See: What was the role of the Israelite prophets?)

And, other than for the crime of rebellion, the king couldn't punish any citizen by his own decision. He was obligated by the Torah-procedures like everyone else (Talmud, Sanhedrin 19a).

8) A robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Unlike in many other ancient societies, in Judaism debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed (Roman Twelve Tables of Law, 3:10).

It is important to note that every one of the above existed in Judaism thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Infanticide was practiced in classical European nations until Judaism and its daughter-religions put a stop to it.

Answer 4

Keel and Uehlinger (Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel) say the Israelite language was closer to Phoenician (both of them being major Canaanite 'dialects') than to the Judahite language, which was a 'peripheral', conservative dialect of Canaanite, comparable to Ammonite and Moabite. Artefacts discovered in marginal territory can be sometimes distinguished as Israelite or Judahite (or Phoenician) based on the dialect in the text.

Keel and Uehlinger say that recent Old Testament research, at least so far as this is carried out by German-speaking scholars interested in religio-historical questions, generally assumes that the religion of preexilic Israel and Judah is to be characterised as thoroughly polytheistic. There were no strict boundaries between the Israelite/Judahite religion and that of its neighbours, especially the Phoenicians (but probably also the Arameans and Gileadites, according to the evidence found at Tell Deir Alla) at the end of the ninth century and during the eighth century. The god Yahweh originally came from southeast Palestine or northwest Arabia, and is evident earlier in Judah than in Israel.

Mark S. Smith (The Early History of God) says that according to the available evidence, Israelite religion in its earliest form did not contrast markedly with the religions of its Levantine neighbours in either number or configuration of deities. He says that in the Judges period, Israelite divinities may have included Yahweh, El, Baal and perhaps Asherah as well as the sun, moon and stars. He adds the goddess Astarte for the monarchical period.
In the late monarchical period, King Josiah of Judah instituted many religious reforms, including monotheism, although this appears not to have survived his death, since Second Kings tells us that his son reintroduced polytheistic practices. Nevertheless, Judah was moving inevitably towards monolatry, the step before true monotheism, in which other gods are acknowledged but are not required to be worshipped.

It appears likely that Judaism finally adopted monotheism during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps under the tutelage of their Persian benefactors, who were also monotheistic. We do, however, still see frequent references to a spirit/goddess, Lady Wisdom, in books such as Proverbs, from the time of the Exile up until the end of the first century CE. How Wisdom fits into a monotheistic culture remains unclear.

Answer 5

Judaism differed from other ancient religions in the following ways:

1) It was the only religion in which God spoke to the entire assembled nation (Exodus ch.19) of over two million people.

2) It made a complete break from the surrounding idolatry. Their monotheism (belief in One God) set the Jews apart because other ancient nations did not share it. We've heard (for example) of the Greek mythology and Roman mythology. What not everyone is aware of is that idolatry tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior.

Compare that to God, who reveals His attributes in the Torah as wise, kind, holy, and pure. God is One, so the command to imitate His attributes (Deuteronomy 8:6) was (and is) a straightforward matter once one is even minimally familiar with the Torah.

Accordingly, Judaism was:

3) The only ancient religion in which a large percentage of its adherents were literate and scholars.

4) It was the only religion in which the people were ruled by God, with no need for a king, for several centuries (see Judges 8:23 and 1 Samuel 8:4-7).

5) The concept of morality was also the work of the Hebrews' religion, including the dignity and value of a person. It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.

6) Under the law of Judaism, everyone had recourse to the courts. A child, widow, wife, etc., could initiate legal action against any citizen to redress perpetrated harm. Compare this to those societies in which (at most) only mature, land-owning males had rights.

7) Government is accountable to a higher authority. In other ancient societies, the monarch was all-powerful. Among the Israelites, however, the king was under the constant scrutiny of the Divinely-informed prophets, who didn't hesitate to castigate him publicly for any misstep in the sight of God. And, other than for the crime of rebellion, the king couldn't punish any citizen by his own decision. He was obligated by the Torah-procedures like everyone else (Talmud, Sanhedrin 19a).

8) A robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Unlike in many other ancient societies, in Judaism debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed.

It is important to note that every one of the above existed in Judaism thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's young babies is perfectly acceptable.

Answer 6

Rabbinic Judaism evolved in stages from an early Hebrew religion that differed little from that of Judah's Levantine neighbours. Mark S. Smith (The Early History of God) says that according to the available evidence, Israelite religion in its earliest form did not contrast markedly with the religions of other nations in the region, in either number or configuration of deities. He says that in the Judges period, Israelite divinities may have included YHWH, El, Baal and perhaps Asherah as well as the sun, moon and stars. He adds the goddess Astarte for the monarchical period.

In the late monarchical period, Judaism began to be monolatrous, although Judahits may have worshipped multiple gods and goddesses in private. Many statuettes of a fertility goddess have been found from the pre-Exilic period.

By the post-Exilic second-temple period, Judaism had become monotheistic, but still followed many of the rites common to other Near Eastern religions, including offerings of animal sacrifices. Many books of scripture were written in this period, and earlier books were redacted to suit the new religious environment. Probably no other Near Eastern religion had such a rich collection of religious literature.

After the final destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, it was no longer possible for Jews to offer sacrifices, and the priesthood disappeared. The centre of Jewish worship became the synagogue, and Jews learnt that prayer was the way to communicate with their God.

Answer 7

It was monothiestic (belief in one God).